Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) in the Heer (Army) of Nazi Germany and Oberbefehlshaber West (Commander-in-Chief in the West) during World War II. At the end of the war, aged 69, with over 52 years of service, he was the Army's most senior officer.
Born into a Prussian family with a long military tradition, Gerd von Rundstedt entered the Prussian Army in 1892. During World War I, he served mainly as a staff officer. In the interwar period, he continued his military career, reaching the rank of (Colonel General) before retiring in 1938.
At the beginning of World War II in 1939, Rundstedt was recalled to military service to take part in Germany's successful invasion of Poland. Thereafter, in 1940, he commanded Army Group A during the Battle of France and was subsequently promoted to the rank of Field Marshal for his actions during the campaign. On 22 June 1941, Rundstedt led Army Group South during Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. In this role, he oversaw the largest encirclement in military history at the Battle of Kiev in September 1941. Later in December, Adolf Hitler relieved Rundstedt of his command when he authorized the withdrawal of German forces from Rostov to avoid destruction by a Soviet counteroffensive. However, in 1942, he was recalled and named Commander-in-Chief in the West.
After his defeat by the Western Allies at Normandy in July 1944, Field Marshal Rundstedt was dismissed from his command before once again being recalled as Commander-in-Chief in the West in September 1944. He subsequently held this post until Hitler dismissed him for the last time in March 1945. Though aware of various plots to depose Hitler, Rundstedt neither supported nor reported them. He also served as chairman of the Ehrenhof, a military committee discharging 20 July plotters from the Wehrmacht, so that they could be tried and murdered by the Volksgerichtshof, a show trial. Upon the war's end, Rundstedt was charged with war crimes, but did not face trial due to his age and poor health. He was released in 1949 and died in 1953.
Early life Gerd von Rundstedt was born in Aschersleben, north of Halle in Prussian Saxony (now in Saxony-Anhalt). He was the eldest son of Gerd Arnold Konrad von Rundstedt, a cavalry officer who served in the Franco-Prussian War. The Rundstedts are an old Junker family that traced its origins to the 12th century and were classed as members of the Uradel, or old nobility, although they held no titles and were not wealthy. Virtually all the Rundstedt men since the time of Frederick the Great had served in the Prussian Army. Rundstedt's mother, Adelheid Fischer, was of Huguenot (French Protestant) descent. He was the eldest of four brothers, all of whom became Army officers. Rundstedt's education followed the path ordained for Prussian military families: the junior cadet college at Diez, near Koblenz, then the military academy at Lichterfelde in Berlin.
Unable to meet the cost of joining a cavalry regiment, Rundstedt joined the 83rd Infantry Regiment in March 1892 as a cadet officer (). The regiment was based at Kassel in Hesse-Kassel, which he came to regard as his home town and where he maintained a home until 1945. He undertook further training at the military college () at Hannover, before being commissioned as a lieutenant in June 1893. He made a good impression on his superiors. In 1896, he was made regimental adjutant, and in 1903, he was sent to the prestigious War Academy () in Berlin for a three-year staff officer training course. At the end of his course, Rundstedt was described by his final report as "an outstandingly able officer [...] well suited for the General Staff." He married Luise "Bila" von Goetz in January 1902 and their only child, Hans Gerd von Rundstedt, was born in January 1903.
Rundstedt joined the General Staff of the German Army in April 1907, serving there until July 1914, when he was appointed chief of operations to the 22nd Reserve Infantry Division. This division was part of XI Corps, which in turn was part of General Alexander von Kluck's First Army. In 1914, this Army was deployed along the Belgian border, in preparation for the invasion of Belgium and France, in accordance with the German plan for victory in the west known as the Schlieffen Plan.
World War I Rundstedt served as the 22nd Division's chief of staff during the invasion of Belgium, but he saw no action since his Division was held in reserve during the initial advance. In December 1914, suffering from a lung ailment, he was promoted to major and transferred to the military government of Antwerp. In April 1915, his health recovered, and he was posted as chief of staff to the 86th Infantry Division, which was serving as part of General Max von Gallwitz's forces on the Eastern Front. In September, he was once again given an administrative post, as part of the military government of German-occupied Poland, based in Warsaw. He stayed in this post until November 1916, when he was promoted by being made chief of staff to an Army Corps, XXV Reserve Corps, which was fighting in the Carpathians. Here he saw much action against the Russians. In October 1917, he was appointed chief of staff to LIII Corps, in northern Poland. The following month, however, the October Revolution led to the collapse of the Russian armies and the end of the war on the eastern front. In August 1918, Rundstedt was transferred to the west, as chief of staff to XV Corps in Alsace, under General Felix Graf von Bothmer. Here he remained until the end of the war in November. Bothmer described him as "a wholly excellent staff officer and amiable comrade." He was awarded the Iron Cross, first class, and was recommended for the Pour le Mérite, but did not receive it. He thus ended World War I, although still a major, with a high reputation as a staff officer.
Weimar Republic Rundstedt's Corps disintegrated in the wake of defeat and the German Revolution, but while most officers were demobilised, he remained in the Army, apparently at the request of General Wilhelm Groener, who assumed leadership of the shattered Army. He briefly rejoined the General Staff, but this was abolished under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919. In October, Rundstedt was posted to the staff of Military District () V, based in Stuttgart, under General Walter von Bergmann. He was there when the attempted military coup known as the Kapp Putsch took place in March 1920. Bergmann and Rundstedt, like most of the Army leadership, refused to support the coup attempt: Rundstedt later described it as "a failure and a very stupid one at that." This was not an indication of any fondness for the Weimar Republic on Rundstedt's part – he remained a monarchist. It was a reflection of his view that Army officers should not interfere in politics, and should support the government of the day, whatever its nature: a view he was to hold firmly throughout his career. He testified at the Nuremberg trials in 1946: "We generals did not concern ourselves with politics. We did not take part in any political discussions, and we did not hold any political discussions among ourselves".
Rundstedt rose steadily in the small 100,000-man army (the ) allowed to Germany by the Versailles Treaty. In May 1920, he was made chief of staff to the 3rd Cavalry Division, based in Weimar, thus achieving his early ambition of being a cavalry commander. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel () in 1920, and to full colonel in 1923, when he was transferred to II, based in Stettin. In 1926, he was made chief of staff to Group Command () 2, which covered the whole of western Germany and was based in Kassel, and promoted to major general (). In 1928, Rundstedt finally left staff positions behind him and was made commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division, based in Breslau. This was considered a front-line posting, given Germany's tense relations with Poland and the fact that Poland at this time had a much bigger army than Germany.
In January 1932, Rundstedt was appointed commander of III, based in Berlin, and also given command of the 3rd Infantry Division. This brought him, at 57, into the highest ranks of the German Army, reflected in his promotion to Lieutenant General (). It also inevitably brought him into close contact with the political world, which was in a disturbed state due to the Great Depression and subsequent rise of Hitler's Nazi Party. The defence minister, General Kurt von Schleicher, was scheming to bring the Nazis into the government, and the chancellor, Franz von Papen, was planning to overthrow the Social Democrat government of Prussia, Germany's largest state. Despite his dislike of politics, Rundstedt could not remain uninvolved in these matters. In July 1932, Papen used his emergency powers to dismiss the Prussian Government. Martial law was briefly declared in Berlin and Rundstedt was made martial law plenipotentiary. He protested to Papen about this and martial law was lifted after a few days. In October, Rundstedt was promoted to full General and given command of 1, covering the whole of eastern Germany.
Serving the Nazi regime
In January 1933, Hitler became chancellor, and within a few months, dictator. The defence minister, General Werner von Blomberg, ensured that the Army remained loyal to the new regime. In February, he arranged for Hitler to meet with senior generals, including Rundstedt. Hitler assured the generals that he favoured a strong Army and that there would be no interference with its internal affairs. Rundstedt was satisfied with this, but made it clear in private conversations that he did not like the Nazi regime. He also said, however, that he would do nothing to oppose it. In 1934, when General Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord resigned as chief of staff, Hitler wished to appoint General Walther von Reichenau to succeed him. Rundstedt led a group of senior officers in opposing the appointment, on the grounds that Reichenau was too openly a supporter of the regime. Hitler and Blomberg backed down and General Werner von Fritsch was appointed instead. When Fritsch was forced to resign in 1938, Rundstedt again blocked Reichenau's appointment, and the post went to General Walther von Brauchitsch.
Like most of the Army, Rundstedt feared the growing power of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and was relieved when it was purged, although he and many others were angered that two generals, Schleicher and Ferdinand von Bredow, were killed. He was among the senior officers who later persuaded Hitler to have these two officers posthumously (but secretly) rehabilitated. Some sources also claim he was among those senior officers who demanded courts-martial for those responsible for the murders, although Rundstedt didn't testify to that at Nuremberg. The Army was uncomfortable with the purge, but Rundstedt and the rest of the Army still took the personal oath of loyalty to Hitler that Blomberg introduced. Rundstedt also supported the regime's plans for rearmament, culminating in the denunciation of the Treaty of Versailles in 1935, which was followed by the reintroduction of conscription. By 1935, when he turned 60, Rundstedt was the senior officer of the German Army in terms of service, and second only to Blomberg in rank. Recognising his status, Hitler cultivated him, appointing him as Germany's representative at the funeral of King George V in January 1936.